JPH08329420A - Thin film magnetic head and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily form a bonding pad to a required shape and to prevent a film forming defect in a protective layer by forming a substrate layer on a prescribed answering position of an element part and forming an external connection terminal part of a lead wire on the layer. CONSTITUTION: The substrate layer 36 having a prescribed thickness is formed on the position answering to the external connection terminal parts 32a-35a of the lead wires 32-35, and the external connection terminal parts 32a-35a of the lead wires 32-35 are formed on the layer 36. Then, the bonding pads 37 formed on the lead wires 32-35 laminated on the substrate 36 are provided on the position high by the thickness equivalent to the substrate layer 36. Thus, the thickness of the bonding pads 37 are formed thin by the thickness equivalent to the bonding pad 37.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a magnetic layer and a conductor layer which are laminated in multiple layers with an insulating layer interposed therebetween to form an element portion, and a lead wire which is electrically connected to the conductor layer. Thin film magnetic head and its manufacturing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, there is a thin film magnetic head in which thin films such as a magnetic layer and an insulating layer are multi-layered and further a conductor coil and a lead wire are formed. Since this thin-film magnetic head is formed by the vacuum thin-film forming technology, it has the feature that it is easy to make fine dimensions such as narrow tracks and narrow gaps, and high resolution recording is possible. Is attracting attention as a magnetic head.

For example, as a thin film magnetic head of a type for recording / reproducing information signals by directly contacting a magnetic recording medium, a conductor coil is formed on a substrate made of an oxide magnetic material such as ferrite by a vacuum thin film forming technique. And a magnetic layer is formed.

Specifically, for example, a so-called induction type magnetic head (hereinafter, simply referred to as an inductive head) is suitable as a thin film magnetic head for recording. This inductive head
A gap film for forming a magnetic gap is formed on the lower core, which is a soft magnetic layer, and a first flat surface for flattening the surface on the gap film to facilitate the formation of a conductor coil. The oxide layer is formed, and the conductor coil is spirally formed on the surface of the oxide layer. Then, a second flattening layer made of a polymer material such as a resist for flattening the surface is formed, and an upper core which is a soft magnetic layer is formed on the second flattening layer. The inductive head is configured.

A so-called magnetoresistive effect magnetic head (hereinafter simply referred to as an MR head) is suitable as a thin film magnetic head for reproduction. In this MR head, an insulating layer, a soft magnetic film serving as a lower shield core, and an insulating layer made of Al ₂ O ₃ or SiO ₂ are sequentially laminated on a non-magnetic substrate, and the MR element is formed on the insulating layer. But,
It is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is perpendicular to a surface (a magnetic recording medium sliding surface) facing the magnetic recording medium, and one end surface of the magnetic recording medium is exposed to the magnetic recording medium sliding surface. Further, a front end electrode and a rear end electrode for providing a sense current to the MR element are provided on both ends of the MR element, and an insulating layer made of Al ₂ O ₃ or SiO ₂ is provided on the MR element. Are formed. The insulating layer is sandwiched between the front and rear electrodes.
A bias conductor is arranged on the insulating layer so as to face the MR element, an insulating layer is further formed on the bias conductor, and a soft magnetic film serving as an upper shield core is laminated on the insulating layer to form the MR head. Is configured.

These thin film magnetic heads are used as a composite type thin film magnetic head in which an inductive head is laminated on an MR head to be mounted on a hard disk drive. The thin film magnetic head is provided with a lead wire for electrically connecting the conductor layer and an external terminal. For example, in the case of the composite thin film magnetic head, the conductor layers of the inductive head and the MR head are provided. Four lead wires connected to are arranged. One end of each of these lead wires is connected to one end of each conductor layer, and the other end is an external terminal connecting portion.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a specific thin film magnetic head. Only two of the lead wires are shown here. As shown in FIG. 16, an element portion 102 of a thin film magnetic head is formed on a substrate 101 made of AL ₂ O ₃ —TiC, and lead wires 103 and 104 whose one end is electrically connected to the element portion 102. Is deposited. Bonding pads 105 for electrically connecting the lead wires 103 and 104 to the external terminals are formed on the external terminal connecting portions of the lead wires 103 and 104, respectively. Here, the bonding pad 105 is formed so that its upper surface is higher than the upper surface of the element section 102 by about 10 μm.

Element section 102 and lead wires 103 and 104
A protective layer (not shown) made of AL ₂ O ₃ is formed on the upper surface, and the protective layer is mechanically polished to expose only the upper surface of the bonding pad 105, and the exposed upper surface serves as a connection terminal for external connection. Has been done.

[0009]

However, the conventional thin film magnetic head as described above has the following drawbacks. In the thin film magnetic head, the element portion 102
If the thickness of the bonding pad is 20 μm, the bonding pad 10
It is necessary to set the height of No. 5 from the substrate 101 to about 30 μm. As a method of forming the lead wires 103 and 104 and the bonding pad 105, a resist pattern having a predetermined shape is formed on the substrate 101 by a photolithography technique, and an electrolytic plating method using Cu as a material based on the resist pattern is used. Is common.

However, the lead wire 10 is formed by electrolytic plating so that the upper surface is 30 μm above the substrate 101.
It takes a very long time to deposit 3, 104 and the bonding pad 105, and it is extremely difficult to stably form a resist pattern having a thickness of 30 μm.

Although it is easy to stably form a resist pattern having a thickness of about 10 μm, when the lead wires 103 and 104 and the bonding pads 105 and 106 are formed by using this resist pattern, so-called overhang occurs, which is formed later. The step coverage of the protection layer is deteriorated.

Even if the overhang does not occur, the side surface of the bonding pad 105 tends to have an inverse taper shape as shown in FIG. 16, and the step coverage of the protective layer also deteriorates. The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to be able to easily and accurately form a lead wire, suppress the occurrence of a film formation defect, and improve the reliability of the product and It is an object of the present invention to provide a thin film magnetic head and a method of manufacturing the thin film magnetic head capable of significantly improving the yield.

[0013]

The object of the present invention is to form a device part by laminating magnetic layers and conductor layers in multiple layers via insulating layers and to electrically connect the conductor layers. And a method of manufacturing the same.

In the thin film magnetic head of the present invention, an underlayer having a predetermined thickness is formed at a position corresponding to the external terminal connecting portion of the lead wire, and the external connecting terminal portion of the lead wire is formed thereon. It is characterized by that. As a specific example of the thin-film magnetic head, the element portion is a reproducing thin-film head element in which a magnetoresistive effect element is sandwiched between a lower shield core and an upper shield core made of a soft magnetic material,
The main object is a composite type thin film magnetic head in which a lower layer core made of a soft magnetic material and a recording thin film head element having a conductor coil sandwiched between upper layer cores are sequentially laminated.

At this time, it is preferable that the thickness of the underlayer is not less than 5 μm and not more than a value obtained by adding 10 μm to the thickness of the element portion. Further, it is preferable to provide a bonding pad on the external terminal connection portion of the lead wire,
It is preferable that the side surface of the underlying layer has a substantially tapered shape.

Further, according to the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head of the present invention, a thin film forming technique is used to form a magnetic layer and a conductive layer in multiple layers with an insulating layer interposed therebetween to form an element portion, and one layer of each element portion is formed. Part or all of the film is formed at the same time as the film formation at a predetermined position in parallel with the element part to form an underlayer, and the lead wire is electrically connected to the conductor layer and is formed by an external terminal of the lead wire. The step of forming the connection part correspondingly on the underlayer, the step of forming a protective layer made of an insulating material on the element portion, the lead wire, and the underlayer, and the mechanical polishing of the protective layer on the underlayer. The thin film magnetic head is manufactured through a step of exposing only the external terminal connection portion of the lead wire laminated on the substrate and making it a connection terminal for external connection.

In this case, when forming the lead wire,
It is preferable to form a bonding pad on the external terminal connection portion of the lead wire. Further, after forming the above-mentioned element portion, a film is further formed on the underlayer to form a film from the element portion.
It is also preferable to form a base layer having a thickness of 10 μm thick.

[0018]

In the thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention, the underlayer having a predetermined thickness is formed at the position corresponding to the external terminal connecting portion of the lead wire, and the external connecting terminal portion of the lead wire is formed thereon. There is. That is, since the external connection terminal portion laminated on the base layer is provided at a position higher by the thickness of the base layer, the thickness of the bonding pad laminated on the external connection terminal portion can be formed thinner. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily form the bonding pad into a desired shape, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a film formation defect in the protective layer formed on the upper portion of the bonding pad.

Further, in the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the magnetic layer and the conductor layer are laminated in multiple layers via the insulating layer by the thin film forming technique to form the element portion and each layer of the element portion. By forming a part or all of the film at a predetermined position in parallel with the element part at the same time, a base layer having substantially the same height as the element part is formed. Therefore, the lead wire to be formed may have a thin thickness of about 5 to 10 μm, and the protective layer can be formed without causing defective film formation.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a composite type thin film magnetic head in which an MR head for reproduction is laminated on an inductive head suitable as a thin film magnetic head for recording is described with reference to the drawings. The details will be described.

In this composite type thin film magnetic head, as shown in FIG. 1, an inductive head B is laminated on an MR head A to form an element portion 31, which is connected to the conductor layers of the MR head A and the inductive head B. Be done 4
The lead wires 32 to 35 are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 2, the MR element 1 having a magnetoresistive effect is sandwiched between a lower shield core 2 which is a soft magnetic layer and an upper shield core which also serves as a lower core 21 described later. MR head A
And an inductive head B in which the conductor coil 22 is sandwiched between the lower layer core 21 and the upper layer core 23.

The MR head A is a so-called vertical MR head in which a sense current flows through the MR element 1 in a direction orthogonal to the track width direction. Specifically, Al that forms a magnetic gap on the lower shield core 2 made of a soft magnetic material.
_An insulating layer 11 made of ₂ O ₃ or the like is laminated. The MR element 1 is arranged on the insulating layer 11 so that its longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the surface (magnetic recording medium sliding surface a) facing the magnetic recording medium, and one end surface of the MR element 1 is magnetic recording medium. It is formed so as to be exposed on the sliding surface a. Further, a rear end electrode 12b for providing a sense current to the MR element 1 is provided on the rear end portion of the MR element 1, and a bias magnetic field is applied to the MR element 1 via the insulating layer 13. Bias conductor 14 is provided.

Further, an insulating layer 15 is laminated on the rear end electrode 12b and the bias conductor 14, and M is formed on the insulating layer 15.
Front end electrode 12a for providing a sense current to the R element 1
Is provided. Here, the front and rear electrodes 12a, 1
The region of the MR element sandwiched by 2b serves as a magnetic sensitive portion exhibiting a magnetoresistive effect.

Then, an upper shield layer which is also used as a lower core 21 which will be described later is formed on the front end electrode 12a, so that the MR
The element A is configured. On the other hand, in the inductive head B, a gap film 24 that forms a magnetic gap is formed on the lower core 21 that is a soft magnetic layer, and the surface of the gap film 24 is flattened to form the illustrated conductor coil. The first flattening layer 25 for facilitating the above is formed, and the conductor coil 22 is further formed in a spiral shape on the surface thereof. Then, a second flattening layer 26 made of a polymer material such as a resist for flattening the surface is formed, and an upper core 23 which is a soft magnetic layer is formed on the second flattening layer 26. Formed and configured.

The lead wires 32 to 35 are formed from the element portion 31 to substantially the same height as the element portion 31, as shown in FIG. 3 which is a sectional view taken along the broken line AA 'in FIG. A film is formed on the underlying layer 36 formed as follows. The base layer 36 has a thickness of 5 μm or more and the element portion 31.
Has a predetermined thickness equal to or less than a value obtained by adding 10 μm to the thickness of the element, here, the thickness is substantially the same as that of the element portion 31, and the side surface shape thereof is substantially tapered.

Further, the bonding pads 3 are formed on the external terminal connecting portions 32a to 35a of the lead wires 32 to 35 (lead wires 32 and 33 in the illustrated example) laminated on the base layer 36.
7 are provided, and the thickness of these bonding pads 37 is 5 to 10 μm. Therefore, as described above, since the underlying layer 36 and the element portion 31 have substantially the same height, the upper surface of the bonding pad 37 is 5 to 5 times higher than the upper surfaces of the lead wires 32 to 35 laminated on the element portion 31. The state is 10 μm higher.

It should be noted that the upper surface of the underlayer 36 is the element portion 31.
The external terminal connecting portions 32a to 35a laminated on the underlayer 36 of the lead wires 32 to 35 are formed so as to be higher than the upper surface of the bonding pad 3 by 5 to 10 μm.
It becomes possible to double as 7, and the bonding pad 37
Becomes unnecessary.

As described above, in the composite type thin film magnetic head according to the present embodiment, the underlayer 36 having a predetermined thickness is formed at the positions corresponding to the external terminal connecting portions 32a to 35a of the lead wires 32 to 35, Lead wires 32 to 35 on this
External connection terminal portions 32a to 35a are formed. That is, the lead wires 32 to 35 stacked on the base layer 36.
Since the bonding pad 37 formed above is provided at a position higher by the thickness of the base layer 36, the thickness of the bonding pad 37 can be made thinner. Therefore, it is possible to easily form the bonding pad 37 into a desired shape, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a film formation defect in the protective layer formed on the upper portion of the bonding pad 37.

Next, a method of manufacturing the composite thin film magnetic head will be described. In order to manufacture this composite type thin film magnetic head, the MR head A and the inductive head B are sequentially formed to form the element portion 31 and the underlayer 36.
And the bonding pad 37 is formed, and the lead wire 32 to
35 is laid over the base layer 36 from the element portion 31 to form a film.

First, in order to manufacture an MR head, first, on the lower shield core 2 made of a soft magnetic material shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, Al ₂ O ₃ forming a magnetic gap
An insulating layer 11 made of, for example, is laminated, and M is formed on the insulating layer 11.
The R element 1 is formed so that its longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the sliding surface a of the magnetic recording medium.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, after forming the insulating layer 13 on the MR element 1, as shown in FIG. 7, a connection hole leading to the rear end of the MR element 1 is formed. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the MR element 1 is formed on the rear end portion.
A rear end electrode 12b for providing a sense current to the substrate.

Then, the MR is inserted through the insulating layer 13.
Bias conductor 1 for applying a bias magnetic field to the element 1
4 is formed, and the insulating layer 15 is laminated on the rear end electrode 12b and the bias conductor 14 as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, after forming a connection hole communicating with the front end of the MR element 1 in the insulating layer 15, as shown in FIG. 11, a sense current is provided to the MR element 1 on the front end. Is formed on the front end electrode 12a, and an upper shield layer that also serves as the lower core 21 is formed on the front end electrode 12a.
The R element A is completed.

Next, in order to manufacture the inductive head B, as shown in FIG. 12, a lower layer core 21 made of a soft magnetic material is formed on the MR element 1 and then the lower layer is formed via a gap film 24. On the core 21, the lower core 21
A first flattening layer 25 made of an organic polymer material such as a resist is formed so as to insulate the conductor coil 22 from the conductor coil 22 and to flatten the surface to accurately form the conductor coil 22.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13, a film is sequentially formed on the first planarizing layer 25 using Cr / Cu as a material to form a first plating underlayer (not shown) having a two-layer structure. Then, the conductive coil 2 is formed on the first plating base layer.
2 is formed into a film. That is, a resist agent is applied on the first plating underlayer by a photolithography technique to form a resist pattern having a predetermined shape, and the spiral conductive coil 22 is formed by plating using Cu as a material based on the resist pattern. To do.

Then, after the resist pattern is dissolved and removed using a predetermined organic solvent, etching is performed by an ion milling method to remove the first plating underlayer existing in the non-film formation region of the conductor coil 22. The flattening layer 25 of No. 1 is subjected to plasma ashing treatment using oxygen gas.

Further, a cover resist for removing an unnecessary plating film of the plating film formed for forming the conductive coil 22 by wet etching is formed. After that, the unnecessary plating film is removed using an etchant containing nitric acid as a main component, and the cover resist is dissolved and removed using an organic solvent.

Then, as shown in FIG. 14 and FIG.
The second planarization layer 26 is formed on the conductor coil 2. The second flattening layer 26 is composed of flattening films 26a and 26b. That is, after applying a resist agent on the conductor coil 22 and forming a flattening film 26a by performing curing in a vacuum curing furnace, similarly, a resist agent is applied on the flattening film 26a, and a vacuum is applied. The flattening film 26b is formed by performing curing in a curing furnace.

Then, Cr is formed on the second flattening layer 26.
/ Ti / Ni-Fe is sequentially formed as a material to form a second plating underlayer (not shown) having a three-layer structure. After that, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper core 23 and the conductor coil 22 are formed by plating on the second plating base layer, as in the case where the conductor coil 22 is formed. That is, a resist agent is applied on the second plating underlayer by a photolithography technique to form a resist pattern having a predetermined shape, and Ni-Fe is used as a material to form the upper layer core 23 by plating based on the resist pattern. To do.

After the resist pattern is dissolved and removed using a predetermined organic solvent, etching is performed by an ion milling method to remove the second plating underlayer in the non-film-forming region of the upper core 23. Through the above steps, the inductive head B is completed, and the MR
The element unit 31 including the head A and the inductive head B is completed.

Here, in the present embodiment, the element portion 31
And the element part 3 is formed near the element part 31.
A base layer 36 is formed at a predetermined position in parallel with 1. That is, by laminating and forming each layer of the element portion 31 at the same time as forming the layers, the side surface is formed into a substantially tapered shape and the underlying layer 36 having substantially the same height as the element portion 31 is formed. .

Here, at the time of forming the underlayer 36, the underlayer 36 has a thickness of 5 to 10 by forming a laminated film at the same time as forming a part of each layer of the element portion 31.
It may be set to μm. Next, from the element portion 31 to the base layer 36, the lead wires 32 to 35 are connected to the element portion 31.
Front and rear electrodes 12a, 12b and conductor coil 22
The external terminal connecting portions 32a to 35a of the lead wires 32 to 35 are formed by plating correspondingly on the underlying layer 36 and are electrically connected to the external terminal connecting portions 32a to 35a of the lead wires 32 to 35. Bonding pad 37 on top
To form a film by plating.

After the element portion 31 is formed, a film is further formed on the underlayer 36 so that the thickness of the element portion 31 is 5 to 10 μm.
It is also possible to form the underlayer 36 having a larger thickness. At this time, the bonding pad 37 becomes unnecessary. Then, after forming a protective layer (not shown) made of an insulating material on the element portion 31, the lead wires 32 to 35, the base layer 37, and the bonding pad 37 by sputtering, mechanical polishing is performed to form only the upper surface portion of the bonding pad 37. Is exposed, and the composite thin film magnetic head is completed through a predetermined assembly process and the like.

As described above, in the method of manufacturing the composite type thin film magnetic head according to this embodiment, the element portion 31 is formed by the thin film forming technique, and part or all of the layers of the element portion 31 are formed. At the same time, by forming a film at a predetermined position in parallel with the element part 31, a base layer 36 having substantially the same height as the element part 31 is formed. Therefore, the element portion 31
Lead wires 32 to 3 that are laminated from the base layer to the underlayer 36
The thickness of 5 may be as thin as about 5 to 10 μm, and the protective layer can be formed without causing defective film formation.

[0045]

In the thin-film magnetic head according to the present invention, the underlayer having a predetermined thickness is formed in parallel with the element portion at a position corresponding to the external terminal connecting portion of the lead wire, and the underlying layer is formed thereon. The external connection terminal portion of the lead wire is formed. In other words, since the lead wire is provided with the connection terminal for connection with the external terminal formed on the underlayer at a position higher by the thickness of the underlayer, the thickness of the bonding pad to be laminated on the external connection terminal portion is made thinner. be able to. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily form the bonding pad into a desired shape, and it is possible to prevent defective film formation in the protective layer formed on the upper portion.

In the method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to the present invention, the thin film forming technique is used to form a magnetic layer and a conductive layer in multiple layers via insulating layers to form an element portion, and each layer of the element portion is formed. By forming a part or all of the film at a predetermined position in parallel with the element part at the same time, a base layer having substantially the same height as the element part is formed. Therefore, the lead wire to be formed may have a thin thickness of about 5 to 10 μm, and the protective layer can be formed without causing defective film formation.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the lead wire can be formed easily and accurately, the occurrence of film deposition failure can be suppressed, and the reliability and yield of the product can be greatly improved. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a composite type thin film magnetic head according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an element portion of a composite type thin film magnetic head.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the broken line A-A 'in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing a lower shield core made of a soft magnetic material.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state where an MR element is formed on a lower shield core with an insulating layer interposed.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing how an insulating layer is formed on the MR element.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which a connection hole leading to the rear end of the MR element is formed in the insulating layer.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state where a rear end electrode is formed on the rear end portion.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which an insulating layer is laminated on a rear end electrode and a bias conductor.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which a connection hole leading to the front end portion of the MR element is formed in the insulating layer.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a front end electrode formed on the front end portion and an upper shield core formed on the front end electrode.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing how a gap film and a first flattening layer are formed on an MR head.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which a conductor coil is formed by plating on a first flattening layer via a first plating underlayer.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing how a flattening film, which is a first layer of a second flattening layer, is formed on a conductor coil.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a second planarization layer formed on the first planarization film;
It is sectional drawing which shows typically the mode that the planarization film which is a layer was formed into a film.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view schematically showing an example of a conventional thin film magnetic head.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A MR head B Inductive head 1 MR element 2 Lower shield core 12a Front end electrode 12b Rear end electrode 21 Lower layer core 22 Conductor coil 23 Upper layer core 31 Element part 32-35 Lead wire 32a-35a External connection terminal part 36 Underlayer 37 Bonding pad

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A thin-film magnetic head comprising magnetic layers and conductor layers laminated in multiple layers via insulating layers to form a magnetic head element portion, and a lead wire electrically connected to the conductor layers. A thin film magnetic head characterized in that an underlayer having a predetermined thickness is formed at a position corresponding to the external terminal connecting portion of the lead wire, and an external connecting terminal portion of the lead wire is formed thereon. 2. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the underlayer is not less than 5 μm and not more than a value obtained by adding 10 μm to the thickness of the element portion. 3. The bonding pad is formed on the external connection terminal portion of the lead wire.
The thin-film magnetic head described. 4. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the side surface of the underlayer has a substantially tapered shape. 5. The thin film head element for reproduction in which a magnetoresistive effect element is sandwiched between a lower shield core and an upper shield core made of a soft magnetic material, and a lower layer core and an upper layer core made of a soft magnetic material. 2. The thin film magnetic head according to claim 1, further comprising a recording thin film head element in which conductor coils are sandwiched and which are sequentially laminated. 6. A thin film forming technique is used to form a device part by laminating magnetic layers and conductor layers in multiple layers with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and at the same time as forming part or all of each layer of the device part, the device part is formed. A step of forming a base layer by forming films at predetermined positions in parallel; a step of electrically connecting the lead wire to the conductor layer and forming an external terminal connecting portion of the lead wire in correspondence with the base layer. A step of forming a protective layer made of an insulating material on the element part, the lead wire, and the underlayer, and exposing the external terminal connection part of the lead wire laminated on the underlayer by mechanically polishing the protective layer And a step of forming a connection terminal for external connection. 7. The method of manufacturing a thin film magnetic head according to claim 6, wherein, when forming the lead wire, a bonding pad is formed on the external terminal connecting portion of the lead wire. 8. The thin-film magnetic head according to claim 6, wherein after the element portion is formed, a film is further formed on the underlayer to form an underlayer having a thickness 5 to 10 μm larger than the element portion. Manufacturing method.